Verizon LTE Pantses 4G Competitors in Speed Tests

And why not? In the big battle of “Who’s 4G Network is Fastest?” PC Mag proclaims Verizon the winner. The carrier’s LTE network came out on top in the publication’s nationwide mobile data speed test, in which Big Red clearly displayed the fastest average download speeds.

PC Mag ran the tests across 21 American cities, and discovered that Verizon’s 4G LTE network is not only blazing compared to its mobile web competitors, but often it even exceeded home broadband.

Verizon’s LTE trounced the competition, with average speeds of 9.46 Mbps down — maxing out at an insane 37.66 Mbps — and 1.35 up. (The one place it didn’t beat everyone was in rural areas, where AT&T still rules.)

According to the chart, T-Mobile‘s HSPA+ “4G” network came in second, followed by AT&T and Sprint, whose performances were roughly on par. (AT&T beat Sprint for upload speeds, but lost for download speeds.) Interesting, considering that AT&T’s then-impressive 1.79 Mbps down lead the pack last year. But don’t count AT&T and Tmo out yet — it will be interesting to see how things change when the former rolls out a real LTE network, and Magenta throws down some 42 Mbps devices.

Until then take heart that, across the board, all of these providers showed serious improvement. And we can also look ahead, thanks to Sweden. Users there were the very first to experience LTE Advanced, the next generation of the country’s next-gen networks, courtesy of Ericsson. The company demo in Kista, Sweden showed off speeds that were 10 times faster than the country’s standard LTE.

So now, if anyone asks you “What’s all this fuss about 4G?”, you’ll know what to tell them. PC Mag actually said it best: “All ‘4G’ is not the same.” Judging by these results, there’s no doubt about that.

Adriana Lee

Adriana is the resident writer-slash-culture vulture who has written about everything from smartphones, tablets, apps, accessories, and small biz technology to cooking, fashion, pop culture, newsmakers and the arts. She…